Contra Costa Health (CCH) will build a new 44-bed mental health rehabilitation center in Richmond, courtesy of an $18.6 million state grant.
The locked facility is planned for a county-owned property at 847 Brookside Drive. It will serve patients experiencing serious mental illness who need 24-hour residential care, but who don’t need hospitalization, according to CCH.
No facilities provide this level of care in the County. When a patient is ready to step down from hospital care but still needs 24-hour service in a locked facility, they are currently transferred to neighboring counties or farther, according to CCH Behavioral Health Director Suzanne Tavano. Over 100 patients from Contra Costa County are currently receiving sub-acute care at facilities elsewhere in California.
“Our goal is to bring Contra Costa residents back home,” Tavano said. “People who need this level of care are receiving it in facilities located in the greater Bay Area and Central Valley. For at least 20 years, we’ve been working toward opening our own facility in Contra Costa, for Contra Costa residents.”
The state grant will cover construction costs for the CCH-operated facility. A timeline for the project is not yet established.
